Early Protection
When your giant pumpkin seedling goes out into your patch you should provide some early protection to help your plant thrive.
What do you Need to Protect your Plants From?
This can vary for different growers and even different locations. Here’s the most common things you may need early pumpkin seedling protection for.
Wind
Wind can be devastating to a young giant pumpkin plant. Snapping or breaking off parts of the vine is not good.
You may think you are in a location without much wind. But gusts can appear anytime. It’s best to be prepared.
Frost / Cold
For some parts of the world they will be starting when there is still snow on the ground so there is no surprise frosts there. They will however be providing shelter an warmth to the seedling.
For the rest of us starting without snow it pays to be mindful of sudden drops in temperature or frosts.
This sudden change in temperature can stunt a plants growth. Freezing weather can kill a seedling.
Sun
Too much sun can cause the seedling to get too hot stressing it out. Worse case scenarios is the seedling is cooked to death.
Some early sun protection may be needed.
Animals
Many different animals would love to snack on giant pumpkin seedlings. This can vary of course from location to location. But something to keep in mind.
From small things like slugs and snails all the way up to rabbits and deer. It pays to be prepared for anything. I’ve even heard of someone’s Labrador that liked pulling out the seedlings.
How to Protect Your Plants
Wind Break
Wind break will reduce the amount of wind the plant receives and reduce the damaging effects it can cause. Wind break can also help prevent larger animals from gaining access to your pumpkin plant.
If using windbreak make sure to use sturdy posts and securely attach it to the wires.
Containers / boxes etc
Simple containers can help with:
- Wind problems
- Cold temperatures
- Animals
When I mean a simple container I mean just use what you may have already. A plastic container with a lid can be useful. Cut the bottom out of it and place it over your seedling.
The lid allows you to remove it. Such a small area can heat up quickly and it could cook your plant. This is really only for a very young seedling and is a temporary solution.
In a pinch I knew there was a cold snap overnight I have used a cardboard box to place over the seedling. Quick, simple protection when needed.
Make sure to remove it once the sun is out. You don’t want your pumpkin seedling cooking to death.
Key things to remember:
- Your plant will grow fast. Make sure to remove this type of protection if no longer needed or the plant is starting to grow.
- If using something like this make sure it is firmly secured. Wind could blow it over and you don’t want it breaking your plant.
Hoop Houses / Cloches
You’ll see small hoop houses or cloches being used by growers a lot.
They will sometimes be used within a greenhouse if the conditions warrant it. Some growers will only use a hoop house as protection and have no greenhouse.
They are the go to structure for a lot of giant pumpkin growers to make sure the start of the season goes well.
There are many different ways of making these structures. The benefits of building your own hoop house are:
- You can make it with whatever you want
- You might be able to recycle items to be used
- You can make them the size you need, ideal for people growing in small areas
The most common way to build a hoop type structure is to have a wooden base made with plastic pipe coming up and over. You then attach (usually with clips) your covering of choice.
I prefer a breathable type fabric to help with super warm days. But still keep the heat in. Polythene or greenhouse plastic is another option.
For you NZ growers out there check out the Polynet range of products.
Green Houses
You’ll see more and more big time giant pumpkin growers setting up greenhouses for their giant pumpkins.
These aren’t usually for early protection though. You’ll see small hoop houses being used either within a greenhouse structure or the greenhouse structure is built a bit later.
They can definitely help in some climates, but they also bring their own challenges.
I’m mentioning it here as a lot of people may think you need a greenhouse. Not all growers use a greenhouse and they can still get great results.
Plastic Chairs for Tip Protection
You may have seen photos of people’s patches with plastic chairs in the patch. You might also be wondering what that is about.
It turns out a plastic chair is a great item to have on hand to provide protection from the sun for the tip of your main vine.
The key thing is to make sure it has a sufficiently heavy weight on top of it. You don’t want to being blown over and damaging any part of the vine.
If the tip of your main vine gets burnt, then it will stop growing. Not having the main vine grow to the length you want can impact how many vines you can have.
Moving the chair as the vine grows out helps the plant deal with the sun.
Building a Hoop House
Here’s a great video by Growing Giants with Scott showing you how to build your own.
Products
Here’s some links to products available here in New Zealand. They are in no particular order and I have no affiliation with any of these companies.
Windbreak
Mitre10 Mega – Windbreak
Bunnings – Windbreak
Redpath – Windbreak
Polynet – Windbreak
Covering for Hoop Houses
Polynet – Mikroclima
Hoop House / Cloches
Redpath – Cloche System
Gubba – Garden Cloches
Conclusion
Early protection when it comes to giant pumpkins doesn’t have to cost a lot. Have a look at what you have around your house to see if you can make something to help your seedling in the early stages of growth.
When it comes to buying solutions, have a look around as there are always a lot of suppliers. Look at what can work for your pumpkin, budget and any other gardening situations it might be useful in.
Having your pumpkin season end so soon into the growing season is not fun, and should be preventable.